


Weight of the World

by platonic_boner



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Era, Fluff, M/M, Merlin Memory Month, Pining, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 16:27:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14084934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/platonic_boner/pseuds/platonic_boner
Summary: Arthur just wants to sleep in.





	Weight of the World

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Merlin Memory Month prompt “Create a new holiday.”

Merlin throws Arthur’s curtains wide open, and Arthur groans.

"Merlin, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I am the king of this country?"

"Well, a man did at one point put a crown on your head and say some words," Merlin allows. "So I suppose you are."

"So I get to decide what the laws are?" Arthur asks.

Merlin sighs. He's not playing this game. "Are you still going on about wanting to make 'rudely waking up the king' a crime? Because last time you said I was to remind you never to bring it up again, due to the jokes Gwaine made."

"No, it is _not_ about that, and you are _still_ never to bring that up again," Arthur says. "No, this is about declaring today a holiday."

"Er," Merlin says, because that's never come up before. "A holiday for what, exactly?"

"A holiday for _rest_ and _relaxation_ ," Arthur says, "and nobody has to work if they don't want to."

"Ah," Merlin says. "I see. This is another one of your attempts to stop me from dragging you out of your bed."

"I really think we could both do with a day off!" Arthur says.

Merlin leans back on his heels. "Well, you're rather desperate today, aren't you?" he asks. "Offering _me_ a day off. You've never gone to such lengths before."

"I just want to sleep in," Arthur whines. "Just _one day_ , Merlin."

Merlin sighs, his heart twisting. After being crowned, Arthur mostly stopped acting like this. It's only in the very early morning, when Arthur is exhausted, that he'd ever say this sort of thing. At any other time, Arthur would never dream of doing or saying anything that could be considered shirking his duty to Camelot.

Arthur doesn't look kingly right now, though. He looks like Merlin's best friend, sleepy and cozy and not wanting to get out of his warm, comfortable bed.

"Well, we can't make it a holiday," Merlin says. "The harvest is going on. The farmers can't take a break, or we'll lose food."

Arthur buries his head under his pillows. The sunlight falls on his bare skin, kissing it like Merlin has never dared to do, and Merlin wishes, as he has a thousand times before, that there was more he could do for his king. That instead of serving Arthur secretly and subtly, he could do everything openly and more effectively, and take some of the weight of running an entire kingdom off of Arthur’s shoulders.

He could offer to make Arthur’s excuses, and tell Leon that Arthur’s running a fever, and give Arthur a day off in that way. But Merlin knows Arthur would hate himself for relaxing when everyone else in the country is hard at work, and he’d end up feeling worse by the end of the day.

Instead, Merlin takes advantage of the pillow over Arthur’s eyes and waves a hand over Arthur’s breakfast, transforming it from a somewhat bland breakfast to Arthur’s favourite foods and some slightly out of season fruit. Then, rather than rudely dragging Arthur out of his bed, Merlin brings his breakfast over to him.

“Sit up, clotpole,” he says, tugging the pillow off of Arthur’s face. He shoves the plate at Arthur. “Here. Don’t get used to this,” he adds warningly, when he sees Arthur’s eyes light up.

“What, to you doing your job?” Arthur asks. “Not much chance of that.”

“I’m a treasure and you’re lucky to have me,” Merlin retorts.

“That’s one way of looking at it,” Arthur grumbles, as he digs into his breakfast.

Merlin sits on the edge of Arthur’s bed, and reaches over to take a sausage. “You know you’re a great king, and the people of Camelot are lucky to have you?”

“Don’t be such a sap, Merlin,” Arthur says, except he looks a lot lighter and less weary than he did a few minutes ago, so Merlin doesn’t take this very seriously. “And stop stealing my breakfast.”

Merlin responds to that by stealing a strawberry, just because he can. Arthur is slightly too slow to slap his hand away. Merlin pops the berry in his mouth and grins around it.

“Glad you’re feeling better,” he says, and reaches over to grind his knuckles into Arthur’s head.

Arthur yelps in outrage, but he has to set the plate in his lap aside before he can come after Merlin, and by then Merlin is far out of Arthur’s reach.

Someday, when he’s ready to hear them, Merlin will tell Arthur all his secrets, and then maybe he’ll be able to do everything in his power to help his king. But for now, it’s enough to run, laughing, down the corridor as Arthur gives chase.

He hears Arthur’s laughter after him as Arthur gains on him, and keeps smiling.


End file.
